Key-board for musical instruments



(No Model.)

W. T. WEIR.

KEY BOARD FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. No. 350,788.

Patented Oct. 12, 1886.

UNITED STATES IVOItTIIINGTON T. IVEIR,

PATENT OFFICE.

OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

KEY-BOARD FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 350,788, dated October 12, 1886.

Application filed Ma) lfl, 1885.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WoRTHINe'roN T. WEIR, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Key-Boards for Musical Instruments, an d I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, and to letters or figures of reference marked thereon, which form apart of this specification.

This invention relates to harmonic attachments for key-board musical instruments, and has special reference to a supplemental keyboard designed to be used upon the ordinary key-board of an organ or piano.

The object of the invent-ion is to provide a removable supplemental transposition keyboard adapted to be temporarily placed over the ordinary chromatic key-board of organs or pianos, in which supplemental key-board the keys have a twofold arrangementfirst, according to the major or minor scale, and, sec ond, according to the harmonic divisions, as described in Letters Patent No. 304, 981, granted to me September 9, 188%.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of a common key-board with the temporary board in place thereon, but broken away at its middle. Fig. 2 is a section in line w w of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a section in line 00 cc of Fig. 1. Fig. etis a detached plan of the temporary board removed from the ways in which it is shifted. Fig. 5 is a section in line :0 :v of Fig. 4.. Fig. 6 is an end view.

For convenience in description I use herein the terms harmonic divisions and tonic, subdominant, and dominant harmonies. The term tonic harmony designates, collectively, all the notes constituting the chords or triads of the tonic in the several octaves of the musical scale. The term subdominant harmony designates, collectively, all the notes constituting the chords or triads of the subdominant in the several octaves. The term dominant harmony designates, collectively, all the notes constituting the chords of the dominant seventh in the several octaves; and the term harmonic divisions designates,

(No model.)

collectively ,the three harmonies above named. I also use the term halfstep, by which I mean a space equal to the width of one key in the ordinary chromatic board of the organ.

In the drawings, A, Figs. 1, 4, and 5, is my supplemental key-board. In Fig. lit is shown in position for use over the black keys of the ordinary key-board, 13, of an organ. In Fig. 3 the end of itis shown. In Fig. at the top is shown, and in Fig. 5 it appearsin transverse section. Its top surface is divided into three longitudinal parallel banks or stages, AA A, each pierced with a row of vertical holes, a, in each of which rests loosely a key, (1., consisting of the shaft c and the head a". Said keyboard A is made one octave shorter than the keyboard B of the organ, in order that it may be shifted laterally, as will be hereinafter shown, and only a suflicient number of holes a are made therein to receive the keys of the major scale and to fully represent the harmonic divisions of chords, and these are placed in the banks A AUX", as described in the Lotters Patent above referred to. Those portions of the banks A A which receive the third and sixth keys are arranged to be moved longitudinally a half-step with reference to the rest of the board.

The drawings show blocks A seated movably in slots A, the latter being a half-step longer than said blocks.

C is a light red lying in a hole, a, pass ing longitudinally through the board A between the banks A A3; but said rod leaves said direct course and passes horizontally around the blocks A", as shown in the draw ings. The ends of the blocks A" have grooves c to receive the rod C,and the wall of the slots A farthest from the direct line of the rod 0 has a groove or channel, o for the same purpose. The blocks A are thus supported by the rod 0, while the latter is in turn supported in the grooves c and the hole 0. The drawings show these blocks at the right end of the slots A, in which position the keys at a are grouped according to the major scale. Now, by shifting the rod C to its farthest point to the left, the block A", with the third and sixth keys,will be carried a half-step to the le:ft,and the grouping of the keys a will then be according to the minor scale.

D is a frame extending over the black keys of the organ, and resting by its ends on the horizontal blocks or ledges usually found adjacent to the end keys of the organ key-board. It is composed of the bars D D and the end pieces,D D. Along the lower edge of the inner face of the bars D D is a ledge, d (1. Between the black keys, and on the white keys of the key-board B, are placed the false keys dt, of even height with the black keys, and each such false key is attached at its ends to the bars D D by means of a slack strip of leather or other suitable material. In consequence of this attachment the false keys are lifted with the frame D and remain in the same position with reference to said frame and each other. It follows, then, that when the frame is to be put in place over the board B the false keys will not need to be arranged by hand to lie in their respective places.

The board A occupies the space between the bars D D and rests on the ledges d d, and may ride to the right and left for the purpose of transposing, as is done in other transposition key-boards.

The shaftsa of the keysa have one side cut away just above their lower ends, so as to make a plane face, a, and a hip, to. The lower face of the boardA is provided with a channel, a, adjacent to the face a, into which is fitted a.key, a, of suflicient thickness to fill the channel a and prevent the keya from turning or falling out of its hole when the board A is turned over.

In Fig. 4 provision is shown for playing accidentals. In each half-step, immediately to the right and left of the keys a, is placed a small hole, e, adapted to receive a key,e, having a head so much smaller than the head of the key a as to allow it to be placed beside the key a without interfering with it. Accidentalsseldom occur in the common grades of music, and when they do occur there are only a few in one piece. Before playing a piece in which they occur the player will place keys e into the holes representing the accidentals indicated by the piece. Then, in playing, all the necessary keys will be on the board. At the ends of the board A, or some other suitable place, holes (2 may be provided to hold the keys e while they are not in use.

As above stated, the frame D is made long enough to rest on the blocks or ledges usually found adjacent to the end keys of the organ. In a piano, however, 'the distance between these blocks is so great that a frame D made for an organ will be too short to reach from one of these blocks to the other; yet it is desirable to adapt the same frame to use on both instruments. This I accomplish by placing a block, F, of proper thickness beneath each end of the frame when it is to be used on the piano, said block resting on one or more of the: white keys of the piano. (See Fig. 6.) As the outer ends of the keys on which these blocks restwill be premed down by the weight of the frame B and board A, the block F should be highest at its outer end, so as to make its upper surface level. Said block may be fastened to the frame D in different ways. The drawings showa button or clamp, F, suitably seated on said block F between and over the bars D D. In a piano, it will be observed, the keys may be held down by the weight of my attachment without sounding them, while in an organ they cannot.

For the purpose of concealing the false keys (2 and theirattachments, a face-board, d, may extend downward from the front of the bar D almost to the white keys of the board B.

Iclaim as my invention 1. The combination, with thebars D and D,

of the false keys d suspended by their ends from said bars, substantially as shown, and for the purposes set forth. 2. The combination, with the board A and bars D D of the false keys d", said false keys being suspended by their ends from said bars, substantially as shown, and for the purposes set forth.

3. The combination, with the frame D of a transposition key-board, of detachable supporting-blocks F, designed to support the frame D on a piano key-board, substantially as herein shown and set forth.

4. The combination, with the frame D of a transposition key-board, of supporting-blocks F, having their front ends higher than their rear ends, substantially as shown, and for the purposes set forth.

5. The combination,with the frame D, of the blocks F-and clamp or button F.

6. In a key-board for musical instruments, the slots A and movable blocks A, for supporting the third and sixth keys, substantially as shown and described.

7. In a musical instrument; a key-boardhaving banks or rows, as herein shown,andmovable sections in said banks for supporting the third and sixth keys, substantially as shown and described.

8. In a key-board for musical instruments, the combination, wit-h the movable blocks A, of the rod 0, substantially'as shown and dc:- scribed.

9. The combination, with a key-boardfor musical instruments, of a rod or shaft, 0, carrying key-supports A* 011 both .sides, substan tially as shown and described.

10. The combination,witha key-board having a plurality of banks or rows of keys, of the rod 0, deflected from a direct line, so as to extend into two banks or rows and support the third and sixth keys within their respective rows, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

ll. TheL blocks A, having grooves a resting in slots A, having the channels 0 in combination with the rod 0, substantially as shown anddescribed.

Y 12. The key-board A, keys a, and key a,

lying in the channel a", substantially as shown scale, and removable keys for the accidental :0 and described. notes, substantially as shown andjdescribed.

13. In a key-board having only the keys of In testimony whereof I affix my signature in the major or minor scale, as herein described, presence of two witnesses. 5 holes placed in the half-steps on each side of r T T 7 said keys to receive keys for accidentals, suly W ORTHIA GTOB stantially as shown and described. lVitnesses:

14. A key-board having a series of pernia- CHARLES H. ROBERTS,

nent keys for the notes of the nuljor or minor 1 CYRUS KEHR. 

